Apple MacBook Pro With Retina Display Launched At WWDC 2012

Apple on Monday unveiled an update to its notebook lineup, including the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, both of which start shipping today.

But Apple also took the wraps off a completely revamped, next-generation MacBook Pro with the rumored Retina display.

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, said at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that the new 15.4in MacBook Pro is thinner than his finger, coming in at 0.71 inches thick and less than 4.5 pounds.

Its display, however, comes in at 2,880-by-1,800 and 220ppi, which Schiller said makes it the world's highest-resolution notebook.

The Mac OS has been updated for the new MacBook Pro display, Schiller said, including Mail, Safari, iMovie, iPhoto, and Final Cut Pro.

Inside, the new MacBook Pro includes up to a 2.7GHz, quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz, up to 16GB of memory, and next-generation Kepler graphics via the GeForce GT 650M. There's up to 768GB of flash storage, and seven hours of battery life; 30 days of standby.

In terms of ports, there's an SD slot, HDMI, two Thunderbolt ports, and USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 on both sides, as well as a headphone jack.

The MacBook Pro with Retina display will start at £1,799 for the 2.3-GHz quad-core i7 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage. It's available today, Schiller said.

MacBook Air

On the MacBook Air, Apple will update its slim laptop with the latest processor - the third-generation Intel Core, known as Ivy Bridge. Buyers can opt for up to a 2-GHz dual core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz, up to 8GB 1600-MHz of RAM, and up to 60 percent faster graphics.

There's also up to 512GB of flash storage, as well as USB 3.0, which Schiller said is up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. The updated MacBook Air will include a port on each side, both of which support USB 2.0 and 3.0.

The 11in MacBook Air boasts a 1,366-by-768 display with a 1.7-GHz dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000, and five hours of battery life. Buyers can select 64GB of flash storage for £849 or 128GB for £929.

The 13-inch MacBook air, meanwhile, includes a 1,440-by-900 display, a 1.8-GHz dual-core i5 chip, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000, and seven hours of battery life. Buyers can select 128GB of flash storage for £999 or 256GB for £1,249.

MacBook Pro

On the MacBook Pro front, meanwhile, the 13in version includes a 1,280-by-800 display, the option of a 2.5-GHz dual-core i5 or 2.9-GHz dual-core i7, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, a 500 GB HDD or 750GB HDD, and seven hours of battery life. They will run £999 or £1,249 depending on the configuration.

Those who opt for the 15in MacBook pro will get a 1,440-by-900 display, a 2.3-GHz quad-core i7 or 2.6-GHz quad-core i7, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, a GeForce GT 650M 512MB or GeForce GT 650M 1GB, 500GB of HDD or 750GB of HDD, and seven hours of battery life. Those options will cost £1,499 or £1,799, respectively.

The last major change to the MacBook Air (and MacBook Pro) was the upgrade from mini DisplayPort to Thunderbolt.

Reports about a Retina display-optimised MacBook have been making the rounds for weeks. One Mac App Store developer recently turned heads by releasing an update with support for "Retina graphics," but the firm denied any prior knowledge of Apple's intentions.